Overview

• ARD had billed the halftime slot as “Poldi meldet sich” for roughly 21:30 to 21:38 and kept the content under wraps until it aired.
• The segment focused on loneliness and featured Lukas Podolski, with appearances by Carolin Kebekus, Mark Forster and Peter Maffay, plus musical elements from Scooter.
• Tagesthemen did not run in the break and was moved to about 23:30 with an extended runtime of roughly 20 minutes.
• Bastian Schweinsteiger served as the match expert alongside presenter Esther Sedlaczek, underscoring that the Podolski feature was not tactical analysis.
• The unusual use of a peak halftime window generated broad social media reaction, with many viewers praising the attention to a sensitive topic.